Chapter 70

The room sank into a quiet stillness.

The Marquis remained silent for a while.

The magic herb clenched between his lips burned away helplessly.

The smoke, unable to be fully inhaled, rose with the embers, drifting through the air.

The peppermint scent, reaching the ceiling, shattered and fell, blooming an intangible flower in the room.

I moistened my mouth with a sip of the black tea Nigel had brought, silently waiting for his response.

Enjoying the bergamot aroma filling my mouth.

The Marquis let out a long sigh.

“……Didn’t you say before that you didn’t know your surname? Was that a lie?”

“It wasn’t a lie. I didn’t hear it from my mother. I guessed it after seeing this.”

I pulled out Ai-mel-ra’s sword, half-unsheathed it, and placed it on the table.

Since things had come this far, I planned to ask everything from start to finish.

The blade, glowing in a clear blue, and the distinct engraving revealed themselves.

The Marquis leaned forward from the backrest, staring intently at the blade.

“This sword… So, the noblewoman had it after all……”

“You seem to know what this is too? The Twelve Swords that protect humanity. What on earth is this?”

Its performance was extraordinary, but it felt unsettling in a different way from Ice Blade.

The material was so rare that even the Grand Princess would be amazed, and it shone in blue and gold as it pleased.

Plus, when I held this sword in battle, it felt like my emotions intensified.

“…Can you see it? The engraving on the blade?”

The Marquis’ voice was much lower than usual.

“Huh? Of course I can see it. I’m not blind.”

I couldn’t understand the intent behind the question. Asking if I could see the engraving? What kind of question was that?

The Marquis’ eyes flickered with an unusual light upon hearing my retort.

“Hmm… Then, I suppose it’s alright to tell you.”

The Marquis leaned back deeply into the backrest again.

Exhaling a long stream of smoke, his eyes half-closed.

“Alright. I’ll explain. About that sword, the Twelve Swords of Oath, and about the noblewoman’s mother.”

And so, the story began.

—-

“You’ve heard of Emperor Carolus, haven’t you? I trust you know that much.”

“Yeah. Was it 800 years ago? He was a hero who saved humanity and founded the Empire alongside twelve knights. I read about it in a book.”

“Twelve knights… That’s right. Each and every one of them was a hero of humanity.”

Marquis Ludwig began to recount the old tale.

—-

800 years ago, humanity was still nothing more than a plaything.

Even though they had gained the power of “Up,” compared to the other flourishing races, they were still a weak force.

The half-humans enslaved humans in mines, and the beastmen raised humans like livestock to eat.

The fact that they could interbreed with most races was a curse in itself.

No one even knew what happened to humans captured by the fairies.

They simply never returned.

Then, a man appeared.

A hero who raised a golden sword high.

Declaring that he would change this world, roaring with determination.

At first, everyone laughed. They thought he was just a human with a fancy ornament.

What could one swordsman do?

Even the people didn’t believe in him.

To them, the world wasn’t hopeful enough to be changed by one man.

And then.

The day that man swung his sword and brought down a dragon, everything changed.

The whole world turned its eyes to him.

He became the savior and hope of the oppressed humans.

The twelve knights, who had been leading humanity’s resistance, gathered before him, offering their swords and kneeling.

That was the beginning of the wondrous legend written by Emperor Carolus and the twelve knights.

Five dragons fell.

Half of the fairy guardians burned to death.

The thirty half-human families were buried, leaving only ten families behind.

The seven beast kings, whom no one could defeat, were skinned and displayed as taxidermy.

Finally, the world became humanity’s.

—-

“It is said that Emperor Carolus, upon meeting the twelve knights, led them to the place where he had obtained the holy sword. There, the twelve knights shared an oath.”

“An oath?”

“Yes. An oath to fight endlessly, burning even their souls, for the sake of humanity, without any personal gain. And… the god there answered their oath by granting them new swords. That is.”

The Marquis looked down at the sword. With a faint longing.

Perhaps with eyes filled with admiration.

“The Twelve Swords of Oath that protect humanity. The noblewoman’s sword.”

I looked at Ai-mel-ra’s sword with renewed eyes.

I had wondered if it might be related to the twelve knights, but to think it was actually their sword.

But if that’s the case, this sword isn’t just rare—it’s a national treasure, isn’t it?

I’ve been swinging around something worth almost a castle.

“Jin-eun, whose crafting method is known only to the royal family. The blessed engraving that reveals itself only to the rightful owner. Those who have seen the engraving have, without exception, walked the path of heroes. One of the Empire’s secret histories.”

An engraving that reveals itself only to its owner.

So that’s why people who saw my sword only said it was precious but couldn’t recognize its true identity?

At least I’ve been recognized as the sword’s owner.

Got it, huh?

The path of a hero. Pretty vague, isn’t it?

“Why did such a sword end up in my hands?”

“After the founding of the Empire, the twelve knights vanished. They must have feared that their descendants would forget their oaths and dive into power struggles. And in the end, that’s exactly what happened.”

Well, of course. It’s common for founding families to get obsessed with power and end up purged.

Listening to this, it seems the Great Emperor and the twelve knights didn’t intend for this, but their descendants had other ideas.

“That’s why not a single one of their surnames has been passed down. The imperial family probably knows… but only their names remain in the records.”

So that’s why the books I found in the library only had their names.

And even then, only a few were listed. No wonder the records of humanity’s heroes were so oddly sparse.

If that’s the case, then the imperial family must also know that my family is descended from one of the twelve knights…

Not good.

“This story is getting pretty long. So, you’re saying the Median family is one of them?”

“Most of the twelve knights’ families have fallen. They fought civil wars among themselves… and some emperors saw them as a threat.”

The Marquis let out a deep sigh.

The smoke scattered on the table spread like mist.

—

The families of the twelve knights lost their glory, most of them wiped out.

By the hands of other families, by the hands of enemies.

Sometimes by the hands of the imperial family.

The surviving families had to choose one of two paths.

Either gain power so great that even the imperial family couldn’t touch them, or live quietly, unnoticed.

Those who foolishly claimed to be descendants of the twelve knights without any power were all assassinated.

—

Marquis Ludwig, who had paused for a moment, placed the burnt-out magic herb in the ashtray.

“Those who chose the former used their secured power to negotiate with the imperial family. In exchange for not revealing their family’s truth, they gained absolute power.”

“That’s quite a wise move. But how do you know such secrets? …Is my guess correct?”

If it’s a secret erased by the imperial family, then only two kinds of people would know it.

Either someone from the imperial family… or the person involved.

And the Margrave of Landenburg is not of imperial blood.

“Right. Your guess is correct. My family was also one of them.”

Marquis Ludwig took out a new magic herb and lit it with a match.

“One of the twelve knights, Berenger’s descendant, became the Elector of Berengeiria. Though the surname changed.”

An Elector. There are five Electors in the Empire, I think.

Two from the Church Order, Paleun in the north, Landenburg in the east.

And Duke Bien’s family in the center.

The Archbishops from the Church Order are religious figures, so that makes sense, but does that mean Paleun and Bien are also descendants of the twelve knights?

“On the other hand, the Median family chose to go into hiding. Quietly, living as a minor baronial family in the provinces. Though they were eventually wiped out…”

So Ai-mel-ra de Median was officially a baron’s daughter.

How such a person ended up captured by the Ka`har and became Or-han’s wife is beyond me.

“No, perhaps not completely wiped out. After all, their successor is sitting right here.”

The Marquis smirked and pointed at me with the end of his magic herb.

“A descendant of the twelve knights…”

My father was a conqueror of the Ka`har, and my mother was a descendant of the twelve knights.

With a lineage like this, I’m practically on par with the imperial family in terms of symbolism, aren’t I?

Normally, I’d just find this fascinating, but now it’s downright terrifying.

If this gets out, I won’t just be a top-tier marriage candidate—I’ll be in a whole different league…

At least it’s a relief that only the imperial family knows.

My horrified expression must have seemed like it was just about the shocking family secret, as the Marquis calmly continued.

“Most of the Oath Swords were also lost during that time. Probably about five remain in the imperial records. The sword my family offered to secure the Elector position, and the swords the imperial family collected after assassinating other descendants.”

Feeling parched from the smoke, Marquis Ludwig took a sip of tea from his cup.

After savoring the aroma for a moment, he pointed at the sword again.

“And each Oath Sword has a name. That sword is no exception.”

“A name?”

The sword’s name?

“Indeed. You should know, as the sword has chosen you as its master.”

The Marquis, having put down the magic herb, looked at me solemnly and declared:

“The name given to that sword is <Endurance>.

A sword forged for those who endure hardships and move forward, the sword of a protector.”

The Sword of Endurance.

**Durandal**